2011 Daytona Supersport: Race 1 Results

The first AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport race of the 2011 season culminated in a last-lap drafting battle that produced an all-Colombian podium, LTD Racing’s Tomas Puerta-who worked construction over the off-season to pay his way back to the U.S.-took his first AMA Pro victory of his career in dominant fashion.

Tomas Puerta finished more than seven seconds ahead of the Rata Racing’s Ducati-mounted Stefano Mesa and Puerta’s LTD teammate David Gaviria, the second- and third-place riders separated by only .008.

Tomas Puerta says: "I’m really excited about it; I’m really happy with my first win. I’ve been waiting for this since last year, and this year I think I will try to be the champion and try hard every time. For the first four laps I was trying really hard because I felt somebody was there…. When I saw a little gap, I tried to make it bigger because I know it’s really hard to win here."

Stefano Mesa says: "The bike is fantastic-really, really fast; you completely top out when you draft somebody. At the beginning I crashed really bad going into a turn and I fractured my hand, but I had to go out just to make my points and have fun. I made it, and I can’t believe I’m up here in my third race. I guess Colombians are excellent in bikes."

David Gaviria: "The beginning of the race was so difficult to ride. I was so concentrated and so focused on the race; I’ve never been here before and I tried to learn as much as possible during the race about the draft. [The draft] is weird to explain, because you get behind somebody and immediately the bike runs very fast, so you have to be fast also to get out of it and not crash with another-you have to be careful a lot with that; I have to learn more about that.

Benny Solis (Roadracingworld.com) and Dustin Dominguez (House of Kawasaki) rounded out the top five.